


Cooking up a Storm

by bethany81707



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cake, Cohabitation, Cooking, Cooking Lessons, Flash Fic, Friendship, Gen, No Dialogue
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28022661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: On the urging of her friends, Bernadetta attends a cooking class. She makes a friend.
Kudos: 1





	Cooking up a Storm

Why did she take this cooking class?

Bernadetta looked around at the girls who had also chosen to participate in this community cooking class. Each of them towered over her, making her more keenly aware of her mousy stature, and most seemed perfectly content to chatter away with one another. Bernadetta found herself staring at the feet of the one girl who was not. Her eyes didn’t quite make their way up to arms more muscular than Petra’s, breasts bigger than Dorothea’s and a fierce gaze even more intimidating than Edelgard’s- at least, not for long.

Entering the class led to the reveal that workstations came in pairs, a fact Bernadetta felt resigned to, but the fact that startled her was that the quiet girl had approached her early, dragging her by the arm to a corner station near the ingredient corner. Bernadetta looked up at her face long enough to notice a reassuring smile before swiftly pulling her attention to the front, trying her hardest to ignore both the pinch of redness in her cheeks and the eagerness to find an enclosed space to hide in.

The goal of this first lesson was to cook a dish one was comfortable with, as a demonstration of skill. Bernadetta knew she would be making a chocolate cake with extra chocolate as soon as the teacher described the task, salivating at the thought, but refrained from making the first leap towards the main pantry for ingredients, preferring instead to check the immediate station for what she could use. When her bench partner returned, she had a whole host of miscellaneous ingredients Bernadetta couldn’t put a dish to in one arm, and a heap of baking dough in the other. She dumped the latter onto Bernadetta’s own bench, pulling a headband around her head and beginning work on her own ingredients. Bernadetta double checked what she had delivered, confirming that everything she planned to use was now on her bench, and followed suit.

Bernadetta put more effort into her baking than she usually did- she had something to prove this time, rather than just producing a gigantic, comforting chocolate lump. But even still, the process of baking allowed her the occasional glance over at her companion. She was chopping, arranging and cooking with a fervour almost like lightning. Bernadetta was puzzled both at the various ingredients the girl had chosen to bring across her chopping board- only some of which she recognised at all- and what flavour of dish she had chosen to craft- those ingredients she recognised did not go together. But curiosity remained idle curiosity, as she knew better than to ask a cook what she was making. If someone came up behind her and asked, they’d best hope she wasn’t holding her whisk. The other girl had a knife.

When time came for the final plating, Bernadetta couldn’t help but feel very slightly self conscious. Well, more than usual. The other girl had hand crafted an exquisite palate of exotic foods. Bernadetta had demonstrated an adherence to her old standby: if in doubt, needs more chocolate. While her cake properly resembled a cake and not a pile of icing, the presentation left a little to be desired. A lot. The teacher brushed past their workstations, eyeing both dishes critically, before taking his taste.

“Pedestrian” was what he said about Bernadetta’s cake. “Excessively exotic” was what he said about the other girl’s. Seeing her get criticised made Bernadetta feel better about herself- she was sure that, hearing only her own feedback, she would draw conclusions that she had no future in cooking. But on seeing the scowl the other girl had, Bernadetta felt less confident that what the teacher had to say was entirely natural. She listened to his parting remarks, explaining that he expected some students to drop out and providing only a tantalising idea of the next lesson’s plans- explicitly to minimise the number of dropout- while setting her cake in a box. Edelgard, Dorothea and Petra all loved her cakes.

Leaving the classroom was done in pairs, mostly out of timing. As her eternal companion led the way out with her, she suddenly grabbed her forearm and led her into a side room. Bernadetta was about ready to faint, until she introduced herself. She was Makoto, a self taught cook by necessity and not someone interested in a class with such professional standards. She had noticed Bernadetta’s nerves and was making sure she’d feel all right if she dropped out.

Bernadetta allowed herself to wonder whether she did, in fact, want to continue participating in this class. On the one hand, participating in it was suggested by Edelgard as a means for her to leave the house more and experience new things. On the other hand, if a girl as cool as Makoto didn’t like the teacher’s style, maybe she wouldn’t be able to adapt to it. She should be open to experiences she didn’t like, though…

Apparently, she mumbled at least some of that loudly enough for Makoto to hear, because her eyes lit up and she asked about inviting Bernadetta to her own home so they could cook together. Makoto lived in a shared space with a group of other girls too, and one of them had a sweet tooth Makoto had never quite mastered sating. The idea sounded amazing to Bernadetta. She asked if she could invite a friend over, and on learning it was because one of Edelgard or Dorothea would want to make sure they were friendly, Makoto seemed more than accommodating.

Why did she take this cooking class? It was so she could adapt to working with other people around in a hobby she enjoyed. And if things would go well with Makoto, she’d get some actual new friends to hang out with if she needed them. In that regard, she had achieved what she had set out to do. Bernadetta could proudly call today a success on her road to independence.

**Author's Note:**

> I was informed Makoto's birthday was within a week of today, and while I haven't entirely verified that, the fact Jupiter is basically Dorothea-that-cooks was enough to get me to make something for them.


End file.
